Gardens of Stone --- A Cemetery Blog by Alexandra Kathryn Mosca

  Cemeteries can be great resources for genealogical research. Here are some tips to get you started,

 For May's  American Cemetery & Cremation , I interviewed 5 popular Instagram taphophiles. In the article they talk about why they photograph cemetery monuments, what they look for, and what they hope to impart to readers.

  This month's 'American Cemetery & Cremation'  magazine contains my article 'Windows into Long Island's Past.' For the piece,  I profiled six of the Island's noteworthy cemeteries --Long Island National, Mount Ararat, Holy Rood, Locust Valley, Memorial Cemetery of St. John's Episcopal & All Saints --along with photos. American Cemetery & Cremation is a must-read magazine for taphophiles, and now is a perfect time to become a subscriber, if you're not already. This month,  American Cemetery & Cremation  is offering a year's worth of issues at the low price of $25.00 (that's little more than a $1.00 per issue).  You can click on this link to subscribe .

  In August, I was given a tour of All Saints Cemetery, on Long Island in preparation for an article I was working on. It was a real thrill for me, as a writer -- and taphophile -- to be shown the grave of William Zinsser, the author of "On Writing Well." Such an unexpected name in an unexpected place. I've included the cemetery & his name, along with my latest article --Windows into Long Island's Past -- for American Cemetery & Cremation magazine.

This cast iron bear marks the grave of artist William Holbrook Beard who was known for his depiction of human-like animals. Bears were particular favorites of his. His work can be seen in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of his most famous paintings was "Bulls and Bears in the Market in 1879. The work was a satirical rendition of the behavior of investors.  Beard was buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery in 1900. But f or more than a hundred years, Beard's burial site remained unmarked. However, the cemetery decided to intervene and contacted Alexander Acevedo, a NYC art gallery owner who had previously exhibited Beard's work., To raise funds for a memorial, Acevedo appealed to donors, and Colorado sculptor Dan Ostermiller responded with a sculpture of a bear sitting on a headstone.

Finally got the chance to tour two of Washington DC's standout cemeteries: Oak Hill and Congressional. So many monuments caught my attention, some for the notable person buried below, some for the architecture, and others for the inscription. This one, with its powerful and poignant message, is a case in point.

The prominent location of former Washington Post editor Benjamin Bradlee's mausoleum, in Georgetown's Oak Hill Cemetery, was the subject of heated debate. A DC advocacy group contended that the mausoleum "threatened the cemetery's historic entranceway" and they tried to stop construction. After their initial resistance, the city, along with the cemetery's support, permitted the project to go forward. Katharine Graham, the newspaper's former publisher, and Bradlee's friend and former boss, is buried not far from the neo-classical structure. 

Little has been written about Long Island's many historically rich cemeteries. So, I was most pleased to write about ten of them for Newsday . My story is the cover for today's Long Island Life section. The history of us: Tombstone tourism connects visitors to Long Island's past

 Green-Wood Cemetery continues to be a treasure trove for story ideas. My latest is in this month's American Cemetery & Cremation magazine. Even though all four of the monuments featured in the article appear in my cemetery books, I've since learned even more about them, and their back stories. 

I've long admired the work of journalist Lisa Colangelo, so I was thrilled  to give her a tour of these two fabulous Queens cemeteries. Explore the secrets and hidden history of Queens' Calvary and Saint John cemeteries  Alexandra Mosca, author and funeral director, takes amNewYork on a tour of the sprawling cemeteries. Explore the secrets and hidden history of Queens' Calvary and Saint John cemeteries Alexandra Mosca, author and funeral director, takes amNewYork on a tour of the sprawling cemeteries.

I am always looking for a new angle from which to photograph Green-Wood's John Matthews (Soda Fountain King) monument. Here's my latest effort.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, to a Jewish family, Anna Held often headlined the Folies-Bergere. Later, Held claimed Paris as her birthplace, shaved a few years off her age, and converted to Catholicism upon marrying a Uruguayan playboy, Maximo Carrera. With Carrera, Held had a daughter named Liane. In 1896, Held met Florenz Ziegfeld when he hired her to be in one of his productions.     By 1897, the two were in love despite being unable to marry legally (her first husband would not grant her a divorce). However, after seven years, they were considered husband and wife by New York’s common law. It was Held who inspired the ‘Ziegfeld Follies.’ Sadly, Held died at the age of 46 in 1918 from multiple myeloma, a rare disease at the time.  Her funeral was held at Campbell’s in NYC and was well attended by stars of the era, except for Ziegfeld, who disliked funerals. Held’s “Empire-Style” burial site boasts a stone arch and two benches. It was purchased for her by actr...

To kick off the baseball season, today's post is in homage to Gil Hodges, one of the game's greats. The grave of Gil Hodges can be found in Brooklyn's Holy Cross Cemetery. His grave is adorned with an American flag and baseball memorabilia left by visiting fans. The former first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers died in 1972, two days before his 48th birthday. Several days later, more than 1,000 people stood in line to pay their respects as Hodges body reposed in a Brooklyn funeral home. After two days of visitation, a Mass of Christian Burial took place at Hodges church, Our Lady Help of Christians, led by Bishop Francis Mugavero. Seated in the church, which was filled to capacity, were Bowie Kuhn, Jackie Robinson, PeeWee Reese, Tom Seaver and Mayor John Lindsay. Thousands more lined the streets. At the conclusion of the service,  two flower cars overflowing with floral tributes led the cortege to Holy Cross.    

A finely chiseled bust tops the monument of well-to-do Kings County politician, Andrew McClennen, in Brooklyn's Holy Cross Cemetery. McClennen stipulated in his will that if his children left no heirs, "I give his or her share to the incorporated Roman Catholic hospitals and orphan asylums of the city of Brooklyn." 

This majestic monument marks the grave of  Major General Robert Patterson, who fought in both the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

Based on Michelangelo's Lorenzo de Medici, this sculpture is part of the Sayles family lot in Rhode Island's Swan Point Cemetery.

The palatial mausoleum of hoteliers Harry and Leona Helmsley commands a picturesque view in New York's Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and is o ne of the most recognized mausoleums in the cemetery. In the center of the building, on top of the inlaid marble floor, two crypts contain the bodies of the Helmsleys. Harry's tomb is inscribed with the following words: Harry (1997): "I wait for the time we can soar together again, both aware of each other. - Harry." On the other hand, Leona's tomb reads, "I never knew a day I did not love you." Leona reads, "I never knew a day I did not love you.-Three identical stained-glass windows depicting the Manhattan skyline adorn the 1,300-square-foot structure on almost an acre of land.  The Helmsleys were originally to be entombed in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, where Leona commissioned a mausoleum upon Harry's death. But when a community mausoleum was being constructed nearby, threatening to obstruct the views...

This graceful monument in Cypress Hills Cemetery marks the grave of Dr. Henry Small --a 19th Century physician and his wife, Araminta.

This Norman Revival hillside tomb, which contains the remains of the Lispenard Stewart family, was designed by James Fenwick in 1889. The Stewart family was socially prominent and when Mrs. Mary Stewart (nee Mary Rogers Rhinelander) died in 1893, a NY Times article noted that she was “one of the wealthiest women in New York . ”Her funeral was attended by the Astor, Vanderbilt and Pell families. Their son, Senator Lispenard Stewart, was included in an 1890 article about the most eligible bachelors in NY. In 1895, he was the escort of Gertrude Vanderbilt at her coming out party (which had an entirely different meaning in those days :)) and characterized as the “best dancer in Newport , Rhode Island .”